Monday, May 7, 2012

Cardcaptor Sakura Plush UFO Catcher Set Banpresto 2008

The first Cardcaptor set, brought to you by Banpresto in 2008. Set of 4, consisting of Shaoran (Syaoran), Sakura (school uniform), Tomoyo, and Kero. They are 5 1/2-7" tall.

Start with Sakura, shall we?

Unpacking these, I noticed that Sakura's shoes had some finish peel off, which is a shame, but it's bound to happen when plush get this old. Luckily it's only on the detail tabs, not on the actual shoe. Sometimes once a small bit peels, the rest will follow. When I saw these last in my collecting days many years ago, a lot of the plush had already lost the decal on her wand, which is very sad. I took pains to wrap mine in stiff paper before packing, but I can see that the decal is lifting off ever so slightly. I'm thankful that it's manageable, especially if she is given to a proper owner after me. The decal will stay intact, if that next person cares as much as I did.

I do think that with these early plush they were starting to use materials that they weren't considering the future of. We got all these cool decals, but if not taken care of, they will not last. Nowadays I would expect Sakura's wand to be made of plastic, or for there to be a sturdy piece inbetween the decal.

Tomoyo looking very cute and still in great shape. The glue around her shoes is browning, but that's normal as well.

Kero, with a rope tail this time as opposed to the SEGA one that is plush and fuzzy. Yet, this one is still charming!

Shaoran, love this little guy! I will forever be sad that he only got one plush in all 4 sets that were released. I always thought he was a cute character, and he, too, had alternate outfits to choose from. The other 2 sets from Banpresto were occupied only by Sakura in different outfits, so I thought they should have at least given Shaoran a go in green.

Not sure of the prices on these guys, but I assume Shaoran and Tomoyo are going to be the more expensive ones since there weren't many plush made of those characters, yet they were popular.